Giving A Ride To God

It was Delhi, and it must have been October. The evening was sharp and clear. I could feel the nip of the winter just around the corner, and I was on my motorbike, riding back to my bachelor pad after my late afternoon shift at the data centre.

Somewhere near Nehru Place, a gentleman, old and wise, flagged for a lift using that universal gesture of thumbs up, fist closed and pointing forward. I stopped.

He had a charming face, and the most arresting part of his visage was the wavy hair and a rich curly beard. He mentioned the destination, which I do not recall now. But, it was on my way home, and I asked him to climb in.

I kept recalling his face during the ride — the flowing white hair and a rich curly beard, which reminded me of someone familiar. But I could not place it.

I kept trying to no avail as my bike sped through the roads of Delhi that autumn evening.

Soon we reached the point where he had to get off. He got down, giving me one of the warmest and most genuine smiles I have ever seen.

And, at that moment, it struck me. This man looked like Michaelangelo’s depiction of God from his painting – “The Creation of Adam”.

He got down, stepped towards me, patted me on the shoulder and said – “God bless you, Beta (Son in Hindi).”

And, when he was saying that, he indeed looked like God from a Michaelangelo painting.

I rode home with a smile on my face.